Cubs Fans Get Playoff Party Started Before Dawn
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Well ahead of Wednesday night's wild-card game between the Cubs and Pirates, Chicago fans began partying in the River North neighborhood.
Even before the sun rose, Cubs fans converged on Harry Caray's Italian Steakhouse to show their support for the team; among them were Cubs Hall of Fame second baseman Ryne Sandberg and Caray's widow, Dutchie.
What would late Cubs broadcaster Harry Caray have said about the team's first playoff run since 2008?
"Holy Cow!" Dutchie said with a laugh.
She wasn't ready to predict a win, but she was certainly confident in a team filled with young talent.
"I think they have a really good chance," she said. "They've got a really good team, and the guys aren't afraid of playing, and so I think they've got a really good chance at it, and I do have a feeling that they might … I'm hoping they will, anyway."
Dutchie was so excited about Wednesday's big game, she didn't sleep Tuesday night.
"Not one minute," she said. "Not one minute. I was so confused, it isn't even funny. They told me one time, then they told me another time, then they told me some other time, and I'm like, 'Oh my God, I better stay up all night, or I'm going to be late.'"
Sandberg, who played on the Cubs' 1984 playoff team, said this year's team, with several rookie players in the starting lineup, has already proved it can handle the spotlight.
"There will be some hype and excitement, that's for sure, but I think the way that I've noticed the young players have handled themselves, and being a big year and playing big games throughout this season, I think they'll just feed off of that energy," he said.
As a former manager, Sandberg said he would advise the Cubs not to change a thing about their approach to the game.
"They've played well, they've risen to the occasion, but what I like about this group of players is … their athleticism, and their youth, and their energy that they're out there with on the field," he said.
Also on display at Harry Caray's was the famous DeLorean time machine from the Back to the Future films, which famously predicted the Cubs would win the World Series in 2015.